This invention relates generally to the field of music and more specifically to a machine for making music. Historical documentation of string instruments dates back to the Biblical harp. Centuries later, other string instruments appeared, such as the lute and the violin. These instruments and all those prior instruments were strung with animal sinew or processed animal gut. In recent times, the guitar, mandolin, and banjo appeared. The earliest versions of these instruments also utilized animal sinew or gut for strings. These were and are known as classical instruments.
Within the past one hundred years, guitars and other acoustic instruments began to appear with metal strings. These metal strings had the effect of producing a higher volume of sound with fuller, brighter frequency response. Within the guitar realm, two of these steel string instruments emerged as standards: the flat top guitar with a “round” hole and the arch top guitar with the “F” hole. The flat top guitar evolved into what is known as an open chord rhythm instrument, as well as a flat picking lead instrument; while the arch top guitar evolved into the closed chord instrument, used in the beginning for closed chord rhythm instrument which evolved into an electric lead instrument. Many of both types of these instruments were eventually outfitted with electronic devices such as pickups and amplifiers, designed to increase the volume through electronic amplification.
While modern instruments have embodied vast improvements over their predecessors, they nevertheless have embodied and still do embody severe deficiencies. The arch top guitar lacked the ringing sound of the flat top guitar and produced limited volume compared to its counterpart. The flat top guitar produced more volume and a brighter sound, but it nevertheless has always had certain shortcomings which include: a loss of frequency response on the bass strings; a distinct loss of volume in certain frequencies and on certain strings; an inability to produce omni-directional sound at certain frequencies and from certain strings; a mushiness, particularly on the bass strings, that causes the instrument to get “lost” when used with certain types of musical groups or bands because of the instrument's inability to “cut through” the sound of other instruments. Furthermore, the sound from this type instrument is projected mostly forward; therefore the musician hears a much lower volume of sound than the audience. This makes soloing difficult for the guitarist who is surrounded by other instruments that are individually and collectively designed to produce more volume.